Is Your Teen Ready to Invest in Stocks? 

Quiz Questions

• 1.
  Please Choose the Answer that Best Fits You

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  • A.
    I am a parent
  • B.
    I am a teen
  • C.
    I am a teen's grandparent
  • D.
    I am a non-parent relative of a teen
  • E.
    I am a friend of a teen's family
• 2.
  How often does the teen get allowance?

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  • A.
    Never
  • B.
    Weekly or Monthly
  • C.
    Occasionally
• 3.
  Has he or she ever saved money over a period of time, for a purchase?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 4.
  Has he or she ever expressed an interest in investing in stocks, crypto, or other assets?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 5.
  Does he or she do chores around the house for pay? 

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 6.
  Is there anyone in his or her household that actively invests in stocks (aside from the teen)?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 7.
  Has he or she ever owned stocks?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 8.
  Does he or she have a job or is self-employed?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 9.
  Has he or she ever taken any business or financial literacy course in school? 

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 10.
  Does he or she have a bank account?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 11.
  Please choose the most applicable answer about the teen's independence when making basic purchases such as clothes, shoes, phones, etc?

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  • A.
    He/she gets money from me either as a gift or an allowance for buying such items and he/she is responsible for making specific choices about what to buy
  • B.
    I make all such purchases so I don't give him/her money to buy such items; he/she has no say so about what I purchase on his/her behalf
  • C.
    This question does not apply to me because I am a teen or I am not involved in the teen's purchasing decisions

Quiz Outcomes

• 1.
  Your Teen Needs Some Preparation Before Diving into Stock Investing! 

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  Thank you for taking the quiz to determine if your teen is ready to start stock investing! They are not ready yet, but you can change that with a little time and a few quick steps.The most crucial step is to teach them how to handle money -- no matter how much money is at their disposal. Parents who can afford to do so can help their teens by giving them some allowance regularly, no matter how small the budget. I emphasize giving allowance on a fixed schedule to help them plan for long-term expenses and things they may want to buy. By providing allowance on a fixed schedule, you help them think about the future and refrain from craving gratification immediately. They can't make these plans if they are unsure when they will get their allowance. You may also want to consider tying allowance to chores around the house. I discourage parents from paying for tasks they should be doing anyway, such as cleaning up their room or the bathroom they use. These chores should be tasks above and beyond what you would typically expect of your teen.Basic money management skills, including the ability to save, are precursors to your kids beginning their investing journey. If you want free information about how to encourage your kids to manage money, please drop me a line at: contact@teenvestor.com. The Next Steps You Should Take As I mentioned earlier, your teen is not quite ready to move forward until you give them some basic money management skills. Your teen can also check out our free website, teenvestor.com, for some basic information about investing.
• 2.
  Your Teen Is Ready to Start Investing In Stocks

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  Congratulations! Your teen is ready to start investing in stocks!They already have some of the main building blocks needed to learn how to invest in stocks.However, they won't take the first step without your help! Start With a Custodial Account Teens can only invest in stocks through a custodial brokerage account they own, but you would control as the custodian. You will lose control of the account once they reach the age of 18 or 21, depending on your state of domicile. Many parents use custodial brokerage accounts to teach their kids about investing in stocks. You can open a free account for your teen in preparation for talking to them about investing in the stock market. You do not need their consent to open the account as long as they are minors. When choosing a custodial brokerage account, look for online brokers that offer the following features: Zero commission to trade stocks No required minimum investment balance The ability to buy fractional shares of stock – so instead of spending $200 to buy a share of stock, your teen can buy 1/10th of a share for $20.You may want to look into some relatively new companies that offer custodial brokerage accounts designed specifically for teen investors. Companies such as Greenlight, Loved Investing, Stockpile, Acorns Early, and others have developed investing trading platforms that:Attract parents who want to teach their kids how to manage money; and Attract teens who want to save and invest. Traditional brokers such as Charles Schwab, Fidelity, E-Trade, and many others also offer custodial brokerage accounts that will help you teach your teen about stock investing. For more information on how your kids can begin their investing journey, please reach me at: contact@teenvestor.com.Sign Up for Our Teen Stock Course I am the co-creator of TeenVestor.com -- the only free investment site for teens and their parents. I am also the co-creator of the TeenVestor Stock Certification Course -- an online course that teaches teens how to invest in stocks and exchange-traded funds.
• 3.
  Your Teen Has Long Been Ready to Start Investing in Stocks --- They Could Have Started Long Ago! 

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  Congratulations! Your teen has been ready for quite a while to start investing in stocks!They already have some of the main building blocks needed to learn how to invest in stocks.However, you need to give them that extra spark to launch them into the exciting world or responsible stock investing. Start With a Custodial Account Teens can only invest in stocks through a custodial brokerage account they own, but you would control as the custodian. You will lose control of the account once they reach the age of 18 or 21, depending on your state of domicile. Many parents use custodial brokerage accounts to teach their kids about investing in stocks. You can open a free account for your teen in preparation for talking to them about investing in the stock market. You do not need their consent to open the account as long as they are minors. When choosing a custodial brokerage account, look for online brokers that offer the following features: Zero commission to trade stocks No required minimum investment balance The ability to buy fractional shares of stock – so instead of spending $200 to buy a share of stock, your teen can buy 1/10th of a share for $20.You may want to look into some relatively new companies that offer custodial brokerage accounts designed specifically for teen investors. Companies such as Greenlight, Loved Investing, Stockpile, Acorns Early, and others have developed investing trading platforms that:Attract parents who want to teach their kids how to manage money; and Attract teens who want to save and invest. Traditional brokers such as Charles Schwab, Fidelity, E-Trade, and many others also offer custodial brokerage accounts that will help you teach your teen about stock investing. For more information on how your kids can begin their investing journey, please reach me at: contact@teenvestor.com.Motivating Your Teen to InvestTo motivate your teen to begin stock investing, you can try appealing to his or her desire to promote his or her financial well-being both now and in the future. However, it’s likely that this simply won’t be enough to get them started on their investing journey. You have to provide a tangible stock investing incentive such as:Seeding his custodial brokerage account with about $100, depending on what you can afford.Moderating any cash gifts/allowance you or your relatives typically give him by allocating a component of the gift for stock purchases only. Supplementing any money he invests in a custodial brokerage account for stock purchases only. Stock Investing Ideas It is often a balancing act for teen investors between choosing stocks with which they are familiar and picking stocks after some basic research about the quality of the companies issuing the stocks. At the beginning of his investing journey, it may be easier for your teen to stick to stocks that resonate with young consumers. One great source of investment ideas for products or services popular among teens is the recent Piper Sandler annual survey of over 7,100 teens. The list below represents some of the brands in the survey and their affiliated companies traded in the US stock exchanges:Top 3 Footwear Brands: Nike (Nike, Inc.), Converse (Nike, Inc.), Vans (VF Corporation)Top 3 Handbag Brands: Coach (Tapestry, Inc.), Michael Kors (Capri Holdings), Kate Spade (Tapestry, Inc.)Top 3 Restaurants: Chipotle (Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.), Starbucks (Starbucks Corporation), McDonald’s (McDonald's Corporation)Top 3 Snacks: Goldfish (Campbell Soup Company), Lays (PepsiCo, Inc.), Cheez-it (Kellogg Company)Top 3 Clothing Brands: Nike (Nike, Inc.), American Eagle (American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.), Lululemon (Lululemon Athletica Inc.)Top 3 Payment Apps: Apple Pay (Apple, Inc.), Cash App (Block, Inc.), PayPal (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)This list is not meant to be an investment recommendation but is provided to give your teen ideas of the breadth of companies to choose from.Your teen can get information about these companies and any other company from Yahoo!Finance (finance.yahoo.com)For more information on how your kids can begin their investing journey, please reach me at: contact@teenvestor.com.Sign Up for Our Teen Stock Course I am the co-creator of the TeenVestor Stock Certification Course -- the only website that provides free investment information to teenagers and their parents. I am also the co-creator of TeenVestor.com, the only free investment site for teens and their parents.